Taos residents show support for reproductive rights
Saturday rally took over Kit Carson Park, World Cup Cafe
Over 120 people showed up in Kit Carson Park Saturday morning (May 7) in a show of support for reproductive rights and the upholding of Roe v. Wade.
The 1973 Supreme Court decision, which allows for legal access to abortion across the U.S. came into question in a recently leaked draft outlining the high court’s potential decision to overturn the precedent, leading to protests in cities across the nation.
The decision, if passed as written, would allow states to make their own decisions regarding abortion rights. At least 13 states have passed “trigger laws” to make abortion illegal immediately after a Supreme Court decision.
New Mexico, however, remains a fairly blue state, and thus more open to pro-choice laws. During the rally on Saturday, the message from participants was loud and clear: New Mexico should remain a safe state for women to access abortion care. Currently, abortions are available in the state in Santa Fe in pill form, and Albuquerque has the closest facility for in-clinic abortions.
The rally started up at Kit Carson Park with a few comments from Taos County Democratic Chairman and Town Councilor Darien Fernandez, who touted a sign that read “regulate me.”
“I want to thank each and every
one of you who are showing up not just for women’s rights, but for human rights today in Taos,” he said to the group as people trickled in.
Fernandez emphasized the importance of voting in mid-term and November elections. “It’s going to take all of us to send this message to our state house, to send this message to the White House. And it’s going to take all of us to make sure that we keep the house and we keep the Senate, because voting has consequences,” he said. “We are gonna send a message that it is not okay for them to try to regulate women, because it is
not about children. If it was about children, there would be universal health care, universal education,” he added to a round of applause.
“Can you believe we’re having to do this again?” asked Alma Lones, president of the Taos County Federation of Democratic Women, who got on stage to encourage everyone in the crowd to sign up for the group and to register to vote. She said she has been looking at different legislation that would make it so a fertilized egg does not have personhood. “Under this proposed legislation, New Mexico would be prevented from cooperating in investigations and prosecutions of abortion providers in the state,” she explained.
Lones said New Mexico also needs to prepare for the influx of people seeking reproductive treatments. “If you were to look at a map of where it’s illegal, [it’s] Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas. Where are they going to come to get their abortions?” she said.
Activist Cristy Holden warned that the ban on abortion was likely just the beginning. “What they have been planning for more than 50 years is to control the midterm elections. If they win that election, they will pass a federal law to keep us from owning our own bodies,” she said, adding that she believes the Republican Party would likely then come for same-sex marriage.
House District 42 Rep. Kristina Ortez and Taos County District 4 Commissioner AnJanette Brush both spoke about the importance of voting. “Elections matter,” Ortez said. “You’ve got to vote for the candidates who will support a woman’s right to make her own decision about her own body…You also need to know that there are very powerful folks in New Mexico who are trying to elect a slate of conservative Democrats.”
“Register to vote in the primary and make your voice heard and then do it again and vote in November. That’s how we got here, that’s how we’ll get out of here,” added Brush.
After lawmakers spoke, several people came on stage to share their own abortion stories. One woman, who did not give her name, said she had had an abortion when she was 19. “I made my peace with it pretty quickly. Never once have I felt shame. Never once have I regretted it,” she said. “If you’ve had an abortion, don’t feel shame about it. Abortion is healthcare,” she shouted to applause.
Several other people got up to share their personal stories, including Commissioner Brush. “I had an abortion in the 90s,” she explained. “I was young, I was a student, and it was my choice. I wasn’t ready... Without that care, I would not be the kind of sibling I’ve been; I would not have been able to have the kind of career I want; I would not be the kind of aunt that I’ve been able to be to my nieces; I would not be able to be the kind of person that I am today to the community.”
Brush then said that just three years later, in the late 90s, the Buffalo, N.Y. doctor who conducted her procedure was shot and killed for providing abortion services. “That’s what we’re up against, people,” Brush said.
The group eventually made their way from Kit Carson Park down the street to the corner of Paseo del Pueblo and Taos Plaza, just in front of the World Cup Cafe, where signs were waived and rallying cries were yelled. Many cars honked in support as the group stayed in the area for approximately the next hour.